November 13, 2012 09:50 PM CSTNovember 13, 2012 09:50 PM CSTMoore: Why I was impressed with Cowboys' Morris Claiborne after his ‘worst game of the season’

Moore: Why I was impressed with Cowboys' Morris Claiborne after his ‘worst game of the season’

2/11

Brad Loper/The Dallas Morning News

Growing up in Shreveport, Claiborne was always known as the area's top athlete. Besides football, he also played basketball, baseball and ran track. As a sophomore, he was named Shreveport-Bossier Male High School Athlete of the Year by the Shreveport Times. At one point, Claiborne also considered playing basketball at LSU after averaging over 20 points as a senior at Fair Park High School. That year he also won the 4A state title in the 100-meters with a 10.76.

Cowboys beat writer David Moore answered reader questions during a live chat Tuesday. Here are some highlights:

What was the deal with Claiborne, don’t recall a DB having a game like since TNewman.

David Moore: It was clearly Claiborne's worst game of the season. But the fact we've gone nine games into the season before he made these sort of rookie mistakes shows how well he's performed. I'm also impressed with how he responded to his poor performance. He didn't make excuse. He acknowledged to the media he had a bad game and vowed to his teammates it wouldn't happen again. Much has been made of players taking accountability for their performance at Valley Ranch. Claiborne takes accountability and cares.

Most writers rank the Cowboys between 16 and 20 in the NFL so far as quality and performance goes. Given the Cowboys record and the way they are playing, where would you rank them within the NFL?

David Moore: Think you have to start with the standings. Eight teams have a better record in the NFC. Six teams are better in the AFC. That's 14 teams right off the bat. Six teams have the same 4-5 record as the Cowboys. To me, you narrow it down to where you want to rank them among that group. Out of that group I believe New Orleans is better. That would put the Cowboys at No. 16

I didn't see Sunday's game. Would you say that the Cowboys outplayed the Eagles and took control of the game? Or did the Eagles beat themselves with their own miserable play?

David Moore: I would say that the Cowboys didn't beat themselves. I would say they had players step up at key moments and make plays, something that has been lacking for a large part of this season. So much focus has been placed on what the Cowboys must stop doing – penalties and turnovers – to win this season. In my mind, not enough focus has been placed on what they must do – start making plays – to win. You saw them make plays in Sunday's game.

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